Hard Bitten

Hard Bitten is the 4^th book in Chloe Neill’s popular Chicagoland Vampire series. From the back cover.~

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals-and they’re camping outside Cadogan House with protest signs they could exchange for pitchforks at any moment. Inside, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan, are…tense. Then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: Get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn’t help that she can’t tell who’s on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who’s tall, dark, and part of an underground vamp group that may have some inside intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the dark, heady heart of Chicago’s supernatural society-a world of vampires who seem ready to fulfill the protesting humans’ worst fears, and a place where she’ll learn that you can’t be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands…

I’m a huge fan of the Chicagoland Vampire series. Merit is one of my favorite characters ever. She is such a strong woman, even when she is uncertain about her choices. Ethan, as always is Ethan. Makes me want to hug him half the time and “Gibbs smack” him upside the head the rest of the time. I’m still a bit mad at Ethan for breaking Merit’s heart in Twice Bitten.

Hard Bitten picks up right where Twice Bitten ended. Merit once again is put in the position of protecting not only her house, but the other houses in Chicago as well. There is a group of rogue vampires having parties where the vamps are turning majorly violent. Merit soon discovers there is a drug that turns vampires violent, and it is in all of the houses. With the help of a few members from the RG, Merit does what she can to find out who is getting the drug out on the street and works on finding a way to get things back to normal, or as normal as things can be now that she is a vampire.

There is a huge change in the series with the ending. I will say it was an extremely emotional ending and made me cry, mad, and really want to throw the book across the room (I didn’t by the way). Overall, I really loved Hard Bitten, just not happy with the ending of the book. Will say it made me think about it for days after I finished reading it. I’m not going to say what happens, and I’m trusting Chloe Neill for now. I’m hoping we get some answers in Drink Deep, which comes out November 1, 2011.